1. Field of the Invention
This invention is particularly suited for application to tillers used by the home gardener to cultivate his garden. These home garden tillers have become very popular and various models employing different types of engines and drives, as well as different tine arrangements, are available in the market place. Typical tiller and tine combinations and arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,864,293 -- Edrich, et al, 3,074,491 -- Field, 3,151,685 -- Field and 3,202,004 -- Field. Some tines may be arranged to provide what is known in the trade as a pick action, an action which is aggressive and which results in relatively deep and fast tilling. Other tines may be arranged to provide a slicing action, an action which is not so aggressive as the pick action, but an action which is less apt to get hung up in ground cover. And, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,685, some tines may be arranged to produce either a pick action or a slicing action as desired.
The present invention may be applied to any basic tine assembly regardless of whether the tines are pick tines or slicer tines. Relatively short tines are inter spaced among relatively long tines in such manner that the short tines will break up the clods initially cut from the earth by the relatively long tines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although a search of the prior United States Patent Art was made in an effort to locate tines and tine arrangements of the type disclosed herein, no assertion is made that the best of such art was located, although that indeed was the purpose of the search. Such search developed the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,754,311 -- Foot, 2,755,718 -- Arndt, 3,452,823 -- Shapland, and 3,503,276 -- Vigot.
Foot U.S. Pat No. 1,754,311 illustrates three digging tines a and three cutting blades b employed in each group, a tine being interposed between two cutter blades. By this arrangement the ground is first sliced whereafter a clod is pulled out. There are no tines or blades to effect further break-up of such clod. As noted in the Foot patent, a cutter b enters the soil in advance of, but to a less depth than, its tine a and, in order to enable a clod of earth to be torn laterally from the ground after being cut, a web or shoulder g is formed on each tine. Such a clod, therefore, would not be in position to be further broken up by any of the tines or blades.
Arndt U.S. Pat. No. 2,755,718 discloses a rotary tiller having multiple tines or blades, some of the blades functioning primarily to distrub the soil while others of the blades function primarily to advance the tiller.
Shapland U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,823 discloses lawn care apparatus having three types of blades, one to slice into the soil, one to remove the thatch immediately above the ground, and one to mow the grass.
Vigot U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,276 discloses a cultivator having tines generally similar in configuration to certain of those disclosed herein. This patent, however, does not disclose tines of different lengths for different purposes.